Bitcoin to Monero atomic swaps.
Trade BTC for XMR, or XMR for BTC, and let the two chains settle it between them. No bridge, no wrapped token, and nobody holding the coins while the trade goes through.
Monero
Bitcoin
XMR
BTCthe three-minute version
Watch a swap play out.
The film follows two traders through one swap, including what happens when one of them walks off partway.
the hard part
The pair that was supposed to be impossible.
Bitcoin has a scripting language and Monero does not. Nearly every atomic swap design leans on script, which left Monero outside cross-chain trading for years while wrapped tokens and custodial swappers filled the gap.
Adaptor signatures move the condition to the Bitcoin side. The signature that pays out the Bitcoin is locked to half of the Monero key, so claiming the Bitcoin reveals that half, and whoever holds the other one can open the Monero.
Monero needs no contract at all. Its key simply stays incomplete until the Bitcoin moves, and with script on one side only, the research calls the design semi-scriptless.
We shipped the first working version in 2020. Early implementations only ran from Bitcoin into Monero, and you may still read that this is a limit. BasicSwap has settled swaps in both directions since 2023, so selling XMR for BTC works the same as buying.
four moves, in order
How the two chains settle it.
Both traders sign the refunds before either of them locks a coin. If the swap stalls partway, the timelocks open those refunds, and neither trader can end up holding both sides.
Bitcoin chain
Monero chain
sig +?now public01
bitcoinYou lock the Bitcoin in a 2-of-2.
Moving it takes both your signatures. The refunds were signed before it went in.
02
moneroThe seller locks their Monero under a key split between you.
Neither half spends on its own.
03
bitcoinOnce the Monero is locked, you send a signature only their half can finish.
They finish it to take the Bitcoin, and the signature on chain gives their half away.
04
moneroYou read their half off the chain and add your own.
That is the whole Monero spend key, and the coins are yours to move.
if a swap stalls
When someone stops partway.
Which way a stalled swap ends depends on who stopped and when.
As in the moves above, you start with the Bitcoin and the seller with the Monero. If you are the one selling Monero, read each case from the seller's side.
The seller disappears before claiming
- 01
The first timelock runs out, 24 hours after your Bitcoin was locked by default.
- 02
You take the Bitcoin back with the refund you both signed at the start.
- 03
Taking it back reveals your key half, so the seller can still recover their Monero when they return.
Bitcoin
MoneroBoth of you keep your own coins.
You never come back for your refund
- 01
After the first timelock, the refund moves the Bitcoin under a second timelock.
- 02
Once that one runs out too, the seller can claim the Bitcoin.
- 03
By default, their client then puts their key half on chain, so you can still collect the Monero.
MoneroBitcoinYou end up with the Monero, only late.
You go offline after the seller claims
- 01
The seller has taken the Bitcoin, so their key half is already on chain.
- 02
The Monero waits under the split key, and nobody else can move it without your half.
- 03
When you come back, your client reads their half and collects the Monero.
MoneroBitcoinNothing on your side expires.
The maker picks the timelock when posting the offer. The offer form starts at 24 hours and goes no higher, while BasicSwap itself accepts anything from 2 to 96 hours, so a maker who wants a longer window to recover from a stalled swap can set one through the API.
what the swap avoids
Five things that never enter the trade.
- 01
No wrapped coins
Both sides are the real coins on their own chains. Nothing is minted, pegged or held as an IOU against a reserve, so there is no issuer whose solvency you have to trust.
- 02
No intermediary coin
The trade never routes through a third token, the way THORChain and Serai do with their own. That would park your coins in validator-held pools and expose the swap to any failure there.
- 03
No bridge
No third chain sits between the two. Bridges are where the largest cross-chain thefts have happened, Ronin and Wormhole among them, and this trade never touches a contract to drain.
- 04
No custodian
Coins move straight between the two traders' own wallets. There is no account to open, no deposit to make, and no operator who could freeze or seize the trade partway through.
- 05
No protocol fee
The BasicSwap protocol takes nothing from either side, whether you posted the offer or took it. At the protocol level, the only cost is the ordinary network fee on each chain.
the alternatives
How this compares.
Several tools will move you from Bitcoin into Monero. They differ mostly in who is holding the coins while it happens, and in who can stop the trade once it starts.
Who holds the coins
NobodyA company
Who can stop the trade
NobodyA company, any time
What data you give up
NothingYour identity and history
| BasicSwapAtomic swaps | eigenwalletAtomic swaps | Haveno / RetoSwapPeer-to-peer, arbitrated | Instant swappersCustodial service | Centralized exchangesCustodial, e.g. Kraken | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account needed | No | No | No | Usually not, but screening applies | Yes, with identity checks |
| Data you give up | No account or ID. Tor is optional, not on by default. | No account or ID, and Tor is on by default | No account or ID, and Tor is built in | Your addresses and IP, and ID if a trade is flagged | Your identity documents and full trade history |
| Protocol fee | None. Makers set their own price. | None. Makers set their own price. | Maker and taker fees | Built into the quoted rate | Trading fees, plus withdrawal fees |
| Directions | BTC to XMR and back, as maker or taker | One way per role. Takers only buy XMR, and makers only sell it. | XMR against fiat and crypto | Both, quoted per request | Both, where Monero is still listed |
| Make and take offers in the app | Both, in the same client, either direction | Taking only, to buy XMR. Making needs a separate daemon that only sells XMR. | Both | Neither. You take their quote. | Both, on its order book |
| How offers reach you | Shared between peers and listed in a distributed order book | Fetched from each maker you discover | Peer-to-peer offer book | One quote from the operator | The exchange's own order book |
| Counterparty history | Your own record of each counterparty, which can auto-accept or refuse their next bid | Your own past swaps with that maker, shown only | Arbitrator resolves disputes | None | The exchange matches you |
| Pairs beyond BTC and XMR | 12 coins | None | Monero-centred | Hundreds | Hundreds |
| Run your own node | Optional, or lightweight mode | Optional | Recommended, not required | Not possible | Not possible |
| How you get it | Desktop, Web (coming soon) and Mobile | Desktop, for Linux, macOS and Windows. Mobile is planned. | Desktop, for Linux, macOS and Windows, through a network such as RetoSwap | A website. Nothing to install. | An account, then a deposit |
in practice
Doing one yourself.
Today you swap Bitcoin and Monero yourself with BasicSwap Desktop. Mobile and Web are still on the way, and Mobile will reach Monero through the wallets adding it.
Desktop
Available nowstep 1
Install BasicSwap Desktop
Desktop runs the protocol and each coin's core wallet on your own machine. If two full nodes are more than you want to manage, lightweight mode reads from public servers instead.
step 2
Fund the wallet you are selling from
BasicSwap creates a deposit address in the wallet it manages for you. Send the Bitcoin or Monero you plan to trade to that address, and wait for it to confirm.
step 3
Find an offer, or post your own
Offers arrive over encrypted peer-to-peer messaging. Filter the order book to BTC and XMR, then take an offer at a price that suits you, or post your own.
step 4
Stay online until it settles
The client hands data to the other side at each step, so keep it running. If you pay in Bitcoin and stay away past both timelocks, the seller can claim it and you get their Monero late.
The docs cover each step, from taking an offer to posting your own.
Mobile
Beta · Monero comingBasicSwap Mobile comes built into wallet apps. The Litecoin Nexus Wallet will be the first, and Cake Wallet, which holds Monero, is adding it too.
- Open a wallet app with BasicSwap built in.
- Tap Swap and enter how much you want to trade.
- Accept the best offer. Your keys stay on your phone throughout.
Web
Coming soonBasicSwap Web is in development. It runs the same protocol as Desktop and Mobile, with nothing to install and nothing to sync, and its offers share the same order book.
- Open a site that runs BasicSwap Web.
- Pick an amount and an offer from the shared order book.
- Keep the tab open while the two chains settle it.
btc to xmr, asked and answered
Questions about this pair.
01What is a Bitcoin to Monero atomic swap?
A trade of Bitcoin for Monero between two people, settled by the two blockchains themselves. Both payments complete or both refund, so neither trader can end up with both sides, and nobody holds the coins in between. BasicSwap runs it with adaptor signatures, which work with Monero even though Monero has no scripting of its own.
02How long does a Bitcoin to Monero swap take?
Usually tens of minutes. Both chains have to confirm, and a default install waits for one confirmation on Bitcoin and three on Monero, several times over as each side locks its coins and then claims them. A custodial service can look quicker. It moves the funds itself instead of waiting on two chains, and that is the step BasicSwap does without.
03Can I swap Monero back to Bitcoin?
Yes. Both directions run on the same protocol and have done since 2023. You post an offer to sell XMR for BTC the same way you would post one the other way round.
04Can I swap Bitcoin to Monero without KYC?
Yes. BasicSwap has no account, no sign-up and no identity check. You trade from your own wallet directly with another trader, and the only record is the two payments, each on its own chain.
05What happens if the other trader disappears?
Nobody ends up with both sides, whoever stops. If the seller disappears before claiming, your Bitcoin comes back once the timelock runs out, and taking it back lets them recover their Monero later. If the Bitcoin holder never takes that refund, the seller can claim the Bitcoin after a second timelock, and by default their client then hands over the key half for the Monero. Both traders sign the refunds before either locks a coin.
06Do I need to run a Bitcoin node and a Monero node?
No. Lightweight mode leans on public Electrum servers and Monero nodes for chain state, and mobile wallets that build in BasicSwap work the same way. Running each coin's official core wallet on Desktop is still the strongest setup, and then BasicSwap validates everything itself. Either way, the client has to stay online for the whole swap, as the two sides hand each other data at every step.
07What are the fees for converting Bitcoin to Monero?
The protocol takes nothing, for either side of the trade. You pay the ordinary network fee on each chain, the same as any other transaction, and that is the whole cost.
08Can you send Bitcoin to a Monero wallet?
No. They are separate chains with different address formats, and a Monero wallet has no way to receive or spend a Bitcoin transaction. Sending BTC to an XMR address will not deliver the funds, and depending on the address it may lose them. Converting is the only route, and that is what a swap does. Your Bitcoin goes to whoever wanted it, their Monero comes to you, and the two payments are bound together so neither can happen alone.
09Do I need a Monero wallet before I swap?
BasicSwap creates one for you. Desktop runs Monero's own wallet software locally and generates the address the swap pays into, so there is nothing to set up beforehand and no address to paste. If you would rather receive into a wallet you already use, withdraw once the swap finishes.
10Is a Bitcoin to Monero swap traceable?
Not as a swap. The Bitcoin payment is as public as any other Bitcoin transaction, and the Monero payment carries Monero's usual privacy. Adaptor signatures leave nothing on the Bitcoin chain that says a swap took place or which Monero transaction it pairs with, so the trade looks like ordinary spending rather than a conversion into a privacy coin.
11How is this different from an instant swap service?
An instant swap service takes your Bitcoin, holds it, and sends you Monero from its own reserves, which is quicker and means the service can freeze the funds, ask for identification, or fail while holding them. An atomic swap has no such middle step. The coins move directly between two traders and the chains enforce that both payments happen or neither does.
12Where can I get Monero now that exchanges are delisting it?
Several large exchanges have dropped Monero, in some regions or entirely. An atomic swap does not depend on any of them. You swap Bitcoin, or another supported coin, for Monero directly with another trader, and there is no listing for anyone to withdraw.
13Can I swap Bitcoin to Monero on my phone?
Not yet. BasicSwap Mobile is coming first to the Litecoin Nexus Wallet, which does not hold Monero, and wallets that do, such as Cake Wallet, are adding it. For now, Bitcoin to Monero swaps run on BasicSwap Desktop.
Last updated
Monero trades against more than Bitcoin.
The same adaptor signature protocol carries XMR against Litecoin, Particl, and the rest of the supported coins. The compatibility table on the Desktop page shows which method each pair uses.